Page 111 of My Ex's Best Friend

I take a deep breath, watching the cars go past my house. I didn’t realize how much I missed Eros until I stepped back into the town. It’s been more than a year since I’ve been back home. Mostly, it’s my parents visiting me in Boston.

I hated it when my parents first moved me to town here, but it gave me one of the most precious things of my life. Eros gave me Kiera. "It's complicated."

"I can do complicated," he says. "Want me to get you a beer?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm good. Dad, something happened. I think I messed up big time."

"Is it about you or the firm?" he says.

"Me," I say. "I had this girl, and I lost her. And it wasn’t even my fault. Or hers,” I say, staring out into the distance.

When Kiera and I were in high school, we couldn’t wait to get out of this town. We had all these dreams where we would pick out a big city and stay next door to each other. In my heart, I always wanted to be with her. Even when I didn’t understand what that meant.

"Well, did you talk to her about it?"

"I tried, but she wants nothing to do with me."

"What do you think you did that hurt her?" Dad says. "The only reason a woman would walk away from you is if you really hurt her."

"That's the thing, I didn’t do anything."

"That means that it's just a misunderstanding."

"I lost her once," I say, my voice choking. "I can't lose her again."

"Who is it?"

"Kiera," I say.

"Kiera Crofton?" he says. "I knew it."

"You knew it? What do you mean?"

"I thought there was something between you the first time you brought her home."

"There was nothing between us back then."

"She was the first person you ever wanted us to meet."

"Because she was my best friend?"

Dad raises a brow.

I sigh. "Fine. I guess I was always in love with her. I just didn't figure it out earlier."

“And does she know that?”

“I told her that I loved her, but I don’t think she believes me. She thinks I broke her trust once, and I thought we had worked past all of that," I say. "But apparently not."

Dad says, "Women have the knack for sensing this kind of thing.”

“I suppose.”

“I think there’s something else, isn’t it?” he says, nudging me.

“Dad, Kiera is pregnant.”

He inhales sharply. “Oh, my God, son. You’re going to be a father.”

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